It's more than a dog's life

She walks into the show ring with Harvey at her side, both a little nervous as they vie against some of the world's top dogs and handlers at the Eukanuba National Championship Dog Show.

And for the second year in a row, Corning's Kelly Shane strides out with a Best of Breed winner.

Two months later on Feb. 13, Shane and Harvey do it again, this time at the world renowned 136th annual Westminster Dog Show held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Eukanuba was held in Long Beach.

"It has been a fantastic two months," said Shane, co-owner of Waggs Grooming shop on Solano Street. "To win best of breed at both shows has been unbelievable."

Harvey, is a 3-year-old, male, red brindle Cardigan Welsh Corgi, whose registered name is "Champion Mariel's Harvest Moon.

"He was named after the movie 'Harvey' with Jimmy Stewart," said Jackie Chapman, who owns the grooming shop with Shane, and herself raises Corgis.

Shane is Harvey's professional handler, but his owners are Marian Mizelle and Helen Jones of Ohio.

"Helen recently passed away, but she was very well known in the dog world and will be sorely missed," Shane said.

She has been working with Harvey for 10 months but during that short time has shown him more than 100 times.

"The first time I had Harvey in the show ring was a disaster. The second time he slipped his lead (leash) and I had to chase him down," Shane said with a laugh. "But with a lot of work, time and training he is now like gum on my shoe, by my side all the time."

Harvey lives with Shane in her home and is just another dog in the pack when he isn't in the show ring, but the minute he enters the ring he is all professional.

"He is the number four Cardigan in the nation and at both big shows we beat the nation's number one, two, and three dogs," Shane said. "Next we are on to win a Best in Show."

Handling a dog in the show ring isn't nearly as easy as it looks.

"It takes a lot of mental and physical training and conditioning on the dogs. I have to teach them to respond to the slightest non-verbal commands, usually made with my hand or foot in the show ring," Shane explained. "The dog has to have and keep a correct pace, gait, stack, stance, ears held right, respond to the judge right and at the same time appear happy and friendly."

She said for a dog to be a show dog it has to love what it is doing, if not it shows and the judge notices it right away.

"We start the dogs out when they are about 6 months old. A lot of socialization, going to different places, meeting a lot of different people," Shane said. "We hold puppy show matches, just little fun puppy shows, and let the pups get a feel for the show-ring, working with a collar and leash. That way we learn what each pup's strength and weakness is."

Shane, 47, hasn't been in the show ring all that long herself.

"It's only been eight years since I took my first dog into the ring, and that was totally unplanned and accidental," she said.

According to Chapman she met Shane at a dog show where Shane was selling her Yodi Pet Pads.

"I had met her a couple of times and asked her to help me show a dog in an emergency situation," Chapman said.

Shane said she walked the dog around the ring and came away with a ribbon, "I really liked it and asked if I could do it again. It seems I was a natural and it really just snowballed from there, and now I am a professional dog handler."

She has clients from all over the country and shows almost every weekend.

Born with what she calls the gift to read animals' minds, Shane said her first and foremost goal is to gain an animals' trust.

"I love dogs and they know it, and they know instinctively that they can trust me. That has to happen before any other communication can take place. People bring me their problem dogs to prepare and handle for the show-ring and so far I haven't had any failures," she said. "You have to understand the dog's language before he can understand yours."

As Harvey and Shane wait for their next big dog show, Harvey waits for the delivery of the fourth litter of puppies he has fathered.

"He loves puppies and kids," Shane said. "It's a dog's life, what else can I say."